Leonardo DiCaprio and director Martin Scorsese have teamed up for the fourth time for the supernatural thriller Shutter Island. In the film, DiCaprio plays a U. S. Marshall whose search for an escaped murderer at a mental hospital plunges him into some terrifying mind games.

Parade.com’s Jeanne Wolf found out that when Scorsese calls, DiCaprio just can’t say no — even if he has to suffer for the role.

It started when he was a kid.“If you’d asked me at sixteen the director I wanted to work with, it would have been Marty. So I couldn’t wait to be in one of his films. You have to know your character inside out or he’ll let you have it. Marty’s not afraid to sit there for days on end just to get a scene right. Most important, I trust him which makes my job as an actor a lot easier.”

Well, not that easy.“I have to say Shutter Island was one of the most intense, hardcore filming experiences I’ve ever had as we explored what the mentally ill had to face in the days when mental hospitals were called insane asylums. It was really very traumatic, and I don’t say that about a film very often. I went to places and unearthed some things that I didn’t think I was capable of. It was like an emotional layer cake that just kept getting deeper and deeper.”

You could call it a nightmare.“It took me back to the one time I really remembered my dreams because I usually don’t. But when I used a nicotine patch when I was trying to quit smoking, I did have bloodcurdling nightmares of mass murders, and I woke up in the middle of the night and had to take the patches off. I guess I had moments like that in the film.”

His best advice about suffering on the set.“I did a film with Robert De Niro called This Boy’s Life. I was just sort of a wild child that didn’t know how to conduct himself on a film set or obey any rules. Finally, De Niro said to me, ‘Look, I know this may suck right now, but pain is temporary, film is forever. Whatever you do right now is burned into celluloid for all time and for thousands of years to come.’ That mantra kind of stuck with me, and no matter how hard it was doing a film, I never forgot it. No matter what happens, your work speaks for itself in the end.”

Fun with his posse.“I know this is going to sound lame, but one of my favorite things is hanging out with my friends. They take me away from the world of show business and keep me grounded. It brings me back to who I am. When I didn’t want to go out in public after all the craziness surrounding Titantic, they sort of pushed me out the door. They were like, ‘Are you going to hide out like a little hermit?'”

What’s really important to him.“I think I was sort of a little biologist when I was younger. I watched documentaries on rain forest depletion and the loss of species and habitats and it affected me a lot. So I wanted to continue that path and learn more about ecological issues. I try to practice what I preach. I’ve been driving a hybrid car for years now. My house is built green with solar panels. I admit I don’t walk to work and I don’t have a compost pile, but I am trying to set an example.”

Dealing with Hollywood hype.“Just because you’ve done a good performance once, doesn’t mean you’re always going to be good. That’s why some of the greatest actors in the world have gone a little bit nuts. They’re saying to themselves, ‘What happened? You used to love me?’ It’s an easy trap to fall into. You just have to realize that when you’re hot, you’re hot, and when you’re not, you’re not.”

A little tough love along the way doesn’t hurt.“I hear my mother’s voice. She’d be going, ‘Get out of bed, do some exercises, stop being a little worm.’ My father would be constantly challenging me to try different things. I’ve been blessed with having unbelievable parents who have given me the opportunity to do what I’m doing, career-wise. And they also made me into the person that I am.”

AMG/Parade Digital

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